UKC

I bought an Android phone last month (Samsung Galaxy) and it's set up on a monthly contract with Tesco. Got my first bill through today and all is fine bar a curious thing that I've been charged for!

On my bill it says that on the 2nd July I sent a text to a premium rate number (charged me 10p) Now, I sent no such text to no such number. The only times I have sent text messages are to friends and nobody else has access to my phone.

Also, on the 6th, 13th and 20th of July the bill says that I received premium rate texts and each has charged me £4.50! So I now have a bill of £13.60! I didn't receive any such texts and nor did I send any so you can imagine my bafflement.

The woman at the help centre said the number that was coming up was some premium rate service such as texting to receive games, ringtones or horiscopes but I haven't done anything like that. She gave me a phone number to ring of the company in question (based in Stockholm apparently but she said the number she gave me was a UK landline number - 01483 305530) She recommended that I phone this company and demand a refund for services which I didn't ask for, nor receive. So I phoned this number but the line is dead.

She also gave me a number for Phone Pay Plus which deal with scams and dodgy goings on so I believe and said to phone them if I have no joy with the above.

I'm curious, is it possible for your phone to be hacked? I'm really ignorant about these things so I'm not even sure if 'hacked' is the right word! But is it possible that someone is using my number or my contract as it were and running up bills on it?

Finally, I keep getting messages on my voicemail from a woman called Lucy, asking if Sharon could call them back. I actually managed to speak to the woman one time when I caught her before it went to voicemail and told her that she had the wrong number and that nobody called Lucy had ever had this number as it was a brand new phone. But she keeps insisting on calling back! Is there anyway this could be related?

In reply to Sonya Mc:
phones & numbers can be recycled, maybe it's that? wouldn't know what to do except write to them & complain. Good luck anyway

In reply to Sonya Mc: Some interesting things about it on this site and some email address's for contacting the managers

http://www.grumbletext.co.uk/vt.php?t=1247&start=50

You should lodge a complaint with ICTIS as stated in one of the reponses

In reply to caseyfather: All these people seemed to have actually received texts from the company called Splash though. I haven't received *any* texts whatsoever from *any* companies.

I'll complain to ICTIS though and to that phone pay plus as well.

In reply to caseyfather: Ooops ICTIS *is* phone pay plus.

In reply to Sonya Mc: There is walware (similar to a virus), that can send and receive text messages without you knowing on the android platform. Check which apps you have downloaded. When you install an app it shows what permission you are granting it. So for instance if a solitaire game is asking for permission to send messages you probably shouldn't install. This certainly isn't widespread in the UK but it is definitely possible.

Might be an idea to un-check in your settings the option for allowing unknown sources. Hope that helps

In reply to Sonya Mc: I know its not the same but I had a call on my landline tonight and it was a recorded message asking me to dial a number back for my insurance payout. I didnt as Im not expecting one. Scam too?

In reply to The Outlaw Josey Wales:

Yep. I believe they can redirect to a premium rate number, or it's a call back to one of those PPI mis-selling companies.

In reply to off-duty: Its absurd. Ive had the same number for twenty years and its ex directory but everyone knows it! Im amazed how many 0845 numbers ring when Im home during the day

In reply to Jiduvah: Hmmm, that could be the possible culprit as I have downloaded 3 games onto my phone since buying it (Solitaire, Doodlejump and Bejewelled) When I installed them I didn't see anything asking for permission to send messages but then I never went through the small print, just clicked agree as I didn't think anything like that could happen!

Do you think it's possible that I could just ditch all these apps and then if I have downloaded walware with them the messaging thing will go also? Or is it stuck in my phone now if it's there?

I'll try the settings option as well (if I can find the 'allowing unknown sources' bit, still getting to grips with the phone!)

Thanks, very helpful

In reply to Sonya Mc:

is it the galaxy or galaxy s2 you have?

(i can give you some clues with the s2)

In reply to rallymania: It's the Galaxy S that I have.

I've just phoned Phone Pay Plus and they told me that it was a company called Ericson IPS that were charging me and gave me a number to call them. So i called Ericson and they said it wasn't them charging me and that they were able to tell me who was.

Supposedly I sent a text message to 65105 asking for news alerts (I did not!) and now this news alerts company is sending me these messages at £4.50 a shot!

I've just found 2x text messages on my phone from 65105, they say,

"Bypass Android slide unlock: You don't have to slide the screen locker to bring your phone out of standby- Double press your phone's menu button will to wake!"

and

"Pressing menu while in the Gallery lets you switch of the deletion confirmation dialogue, which could shave many seconds off your photo management times."


Seems to me that this 'company' is pretending to be some sort of helpful service for my phone and charging me for the priviledge!

Ericson deny it was them and say that don't deal with mobiles and gave me the number 0800 0988508 to phone saying this was the company charging me. Have phoned this number and it's an answering maching with an American accent.

So I'm still none the wiser

Tesco told me that phone pay plus should be able to get to the bottom of it but they've been next to useless!

In reply to rallymania: Do you know how I find sent text messages on the Galaxy S?

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Mine isn't the Samsung Galaxy but the option is under Settings - Applications - Unknown Sources (I have to check the box to "allow installation of non-Market applications")

In reply to Sonya Mc:

whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/65105

Worth a read, has some more numbers to try

In reply to Sonya Mc:

in the short term can tesco barr services from this number to your phone?

there's a few things that might have happened. althought he number is new to you, it might have previosuly been used by someone else.
it's also possible someone naughty has registered your phone for you (before you got it for example) the company could also just be trying it on and finally there's that walware discussed above.

i can tell you how i get to the settings, but i don't know how similar your menus will be if that helpes at all?

from the main home screen click on applications and find the settings icon, click that and locate another applications icon
on mine, the unknown sources is at the top of the list (make sure it's unticked)
next down is manage applications
here i have "tabs" across the top, the first one being downloaded
pick on of the games you've installed eg solitare
scroll down and the last section is permissions
here for example the solitare i've installed has permission to modify delete storage (so it can install itself and save configuration i'm guessing)
it also wants permission to read phone status and ID (not sure about the ID, but i assume the phone status is so it knows when a call comes in?)

so visit all three of those games you've installed and see if any of them have permission to send texts

HTH's

PS i'm going to chekc my first orange bill for this exact same thing now too

In reply to rallymania: Brilliant thanks! I managed to get it unticked just as you said

The only app that had the ability to send MSM's was a thing called Battery Doubler so I've just deleted it.

And Tesco have put a bar on ALL premium rate numbers on my phone.

In reply to Jaffacake: Thanks, that's really, really helpful Have texted STOP to that number. Some people have phoned that 0800 number and had a full refund so hopefully I'll get through at some point.

In reply to Sonya Mc: Yes if you delete the culprit it will stop this from your phone. Battery doubler could well be the problem because I can't think of any reason it would need that permission.

If the app has been sending messages you may never know as it wont save the messages in your sent items. Could be worth factory resetting the phone and be careful with the apps you install.